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NEW ENGLAIND FARMER. 



Fe33. 



but when the cow dies there is an end to her su- 

 periority, if. she has left no progeny behind her ; 

 nor even then, unless care has been taken in the 

 selection of the male to propagate from. And in 

 order to raise good stock we must have some 

 standard. If there is all sorts of blood in an ani- 

 mal it will be impossible to tell what the charac- 

 ter of its issue will be. It is all hap-hazard. 



Mr. J. Brooks, of Princeton, offered some re- 

 marks in regard to the breeding of cattle. He said 

 he could in time produce any characteristic in an 

 animal that he wislied, and that to any desired 

 extent, and with perfect certainty — as color, shape, 

 for beef or for milk, and a certain quantity of milk. 

 For the last twenty years he had not failed in these 

 matters. But he could not go beyond a certain 

 limit ; and he was skeptical whether any man 

 could get above a certain maximum ; therefore, if 

 we would breed for any particular purpose, we 

 must have that purpose in view. There should be 

 a particular state of feeling between both animals 

 in order to propagate with certainty. In Europe 

 great attention is paid to this matter and it will be 

 found to be of great importance, for if wished, 

 anything can be propagated that may be desired. 



He thought there was one thing agricultural so- 

 cieties were deficient in, and that was a method of 

 determining the comparative value of milch cows, 

 exhibited at the shows. The cow that gives the 

 most milk gets the premium, while another along- 

 side of her that weighs more, and is really the best 

 cow, gets nothing. The weight of the animal, the 

 amount of food it consumes, and the quantity of 

 milk yielded in proportion to the cost cf keeping 

 ftnd the live weight should be accurately ascer- 

 tained, in order to fix the ac{;ual value of the 

 beast, 



Mr. Dodge, of Sutton, stated that in Worcester 

 County premiums were awarded only for such an- 

 imals as were raised in the county, with the ex- 

 ception of bulls and boars, that may be brought 

 in with a guarantee that they shall be kept for the 

 improvement of our stock. They had been breed- 

 ing from imported stock, but could not succeed 

 with the females of either Devon or Ayrshire blood, 

 but had with half bloods. He had tried a cross of 

 the Devon with the Durham, but found it a very 

 undesirable cross. He was entirely satisfied that 

 unless some standard could be obtained, it would 

 be utterly useless to offer premiums so long as 

 foreign steck is permitted to be brought in. 



Mr. Wilder, of Dorchester, submitted a few re- 

 marks in relation to the importance of having pure 

 blood to breed from. By particular attention to 

 this on the part of the male, we may be sure of 

 great advancement. 



Mr. Brooks, of Princeton, desired to know what 

 numbe;? of quarts of milk it required to make a 

 pound of cheese. He knew of two dairies supplied 

 hj Durham cows, wheye it took about nine pounds 



of milk to make a pound of cheese. He desired to 

 know how it was with other dairies, but no re- 

 sponse was made at this point. 



Hon. AiiASA Walker, spoke on the subject of 

 breeding cattle. He said one fact was not general- 

 ly taken into account in relation to imported stock. 

 He believed it was impossible to raise Durham or 

 Devonshire cattle in this country. There is a rad- 

 ical difference between our climate and that of 

 England, which he believed changed the charac- 

 teristics of every animal imported fi-om thence. 

 We must depend on a truly Americanised stock. 

 He had some very superior Durham cows, raised 

 in this country, and unsurpassed by any others he 

 knew. But he had a little native breed cow, 

 (what breed he could not tell) that was really a 

 more profitable animal than the Durhams, consid-' 

 erin^the cost of keeping her and the quality of her 

 milk. 



Mr. Howard, of Boston, rose to respond to the 

 inquiry of Mr. Brooks, of Princeton, in regard to 

 the quantity of milk necessary to make a pound of 

 cheese. He stated that no fixed rule could be 

 adopted owing to a variation in the quality of the 

 milk. That milkwhich is lightest, is the richest. In 

 New York it is assumed that ten pounds of milk, 

 will. make one pound of cheese, or one pound of 

 butter. The quantity of milk usually allowed in 

 England, for a pound of butter, is 'twelve quarts. 

 But that milk which gives the most butter, some- 

 times does not give so much cheese. 



Mr. Howard also replied to the remarks of INIr. 

 Walker, in regard to breeding imported cattle. 

 He did not perceive the distinction which had beeq 

 drawn between native and foreign stock, for we 

 have no native indigenous breeds among us ; they 

 were all originally imported. The first cattls 

 brought to this section of the country, came frora 

 the southern part of England, and one Devon 

 brought over to Connecticut, gave rise to that nu- 

 merous breed known as "Farmington reds" ; and 

 any one who has an eye for stock can see that they 

 bear to this day a striking affinity to the Devon 

 cattle. If these cattle have retained their affini^ 

 ty to the Devon breed for 200 years, are we justi* 

 fied in saying that we can never ])reed Devonshire 

 cattle in this country 1 They have been subjected to 

 no system, and if we adopt an enlightened system 

 of propagation we certainly have every reason to 

 believe that Devons can be raised as well in this, 

 as in their native country. In Naw York, •where 

 the speaker had had considerable experience, the 

 Devons have greatly increased, and instead of re-- 

 ceding from the Devon standard, have gradually 

 conformed more and more to it. He believed that 

 the fault in rearing cattle, was in the map, and 

 not in the animal. 



Dr. Reed, of Pittsfield, wished that premiums 

 should be awarded only to those farmers, who di? 

 rect particular attention to breeding a good cQW'i 



